Setting Out unusual shaped hall

[mickdixon]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a victorian house with the a typical hallway layout. Straight in from the door to the stairs and then it widens out to one side to lead to the kitchen.
There is one exception. The house is in a crescent and as a consequence is wedge shaped. The hall way at the kitchen door is 10 inches wider than that it is at the side of the stairs. It is 6 inches wider hear than it is at the front door. Is this making sense? (I'll try and put a sketch or photo up later if it helps)
I intend to use black and white victorian tiles with a decorative border. Do I set them out with the border running parallel to the walls or square the border and run it out outside of that?
I apologize for the dodgy descriptions but this is quite obviously not my field.

Any advice greatly appreciated

[Alan.P]

I would keep the border square as it's the focal point and have the field tiles outside of it meet the skirting. As ever, I await others input

Oh to TilersForums Mick

[mickdixon]

Thanks Alan, I think I'll have a dry run that way

[Dave]

Hello mick and welcome....

As Alan say's with the border and i would lay the field tiles first then infill the border...but you need to plan the floor lay out first to see where corners will land and cut sizes etc etc....

[mickdixon]

Thanks Dave

[timeless john]

scan0011.jpgIts a question of aesthetics and customer choice I think.
Apart from my recent entry on Job of the Month (August) I always set my hallways out for the centre field tiles and make sure I have an equal cut to the border - especially if it is on the diamond ( for some reason I never do it square - must be something to do with long straight lines).
However it is not always possible in areas further back from the main door to follow exact patterns back towards kitchens etc. and you then have to position the border as the main emphasis.
The area outside of the border is your variant section and cuts can run from 20mm up to whatever - even 120mm each side is ok rather than seeing the pattern eaten into the border.
I have included a Black&White to show the layout.

Hope my input is of interest.

Timeless John.

[mickdixon]

Thanks
Timeless John
The photo is pretty much what I am trying to achieve but the border is slightly different( triangles instead of full tiles). I did read somewhere that sometimes on original victorian halls the border ran straight into the stairs to give the appearance that the stairs were built on top of the tiled hall. I presume this means there would be no border required along the side of the stairs too. Does this sound plausible ?

Regards

Mick

[timeless john]

scan0013.jpg
Mick - I'am pretty certain that the staircases would have been in situ prior to the tiling as the hand made Goemetric tiles of the Victorian era tended to be about the border following the shape of the Vestibule/Hallway.
To me for it to run into a feature ie wall/staircase would give the appearance of it being built on and IMO loose the feature as a unit.
The photo above shows the off set feature of the hallway going back to the scullery/kitchen. Here as I described in my earlier post it shows how a design has to accommodate the uneven position of field tiles and thus the border becomes the prime feature.
In this example we were just the tiling contractors and as such had no initial input to design/colours and therefore were governed by the pattern for layout .

Timeless John.

[mickdixon]

Pic looks great. That is very similar to my hall except mine is a bit wider and the party and lounge/dining room walls are not parallel. Are you anywhere near Low Fell, Gateshead?

[timeless john]

I'am on God's side of the Tyne - the north.
But if you need any on site input you could PM me - I'd be more than happy to add more to an interesting project.

Timeless John.

[mickdixon]

When I figure out how to PM I will do that. I might be better getting a pro in.

[Alan.P]

click on TJ's name and a list will pop down with the option to send a private message ( pm )

[whitebeam]

Thanks
Timeless John
The photo is pretty much what I am trying to achieve but the border is slightly different( triangles instead of full tiles). I did read somewhere that sometimes on original victorian halls the border ran straight into the stairs to give the appearance that the stairs were built on top of the tiled hall. I presume this means there would be no border required along the side of the stairs too. Does this sound plausible ?

Regards

Mick

Did see that in an old property, they also laid the tiles under the stairs

[doug boardley]

When I figure out how to PM I will do that. I might be better getting a pro in.

Timeless John is a pro Mick, a very good one